Rail anchor



iii

Patented Jan. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE VICTOR C. ARMSTRONG, F HAGKENSAGK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE IE 81: M COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATIGN OF ILLINOIS RAIL ANCHOR A'ppIication filed August 13, 1930. Serial No. 474,957.

My invention relates to rail anchors adapted to grip the base portion of a rail and abut against a cross tie to resist longitudinal creeping movement of the rail.

The principal object of" the invention is to provide improvements in rail anchor construction whereby such devices may be made of relatively light weight material, but which will provide the desired strength to insure a very strong gripping engagement on the rail, and which also provides the rail anchor with edge surfaces of suflicient width to maintain the anchor in a position substantially perpendicular to the bottom surface of the rail. To this end, the invention con.- templates shearing the rail anchor from plate or strip material having a sinuous c011- figuration in cross-section, whereby the effective width of the anchor produced is greater than the actual thickness of the metal and provides rail engaging surfaces of sufficient area to make it practicable to form the anchor for edgewise engagement with the rail. 7

Another object is to provide a rail anchor having corrugations therein sopositioned as to substantially balance the bearing surfaces along the rail-engaging edge of the anchor and to so dispose the corrugations at the aw end of the anchor as to permit sufficient yieldof the jaw to permit its. application to a rail and to insure a tight grip thereon. The corrugations make it possible to construct a relatively light and at the same time a very rigid anchor device which may be arranged edgewise with respect to the bottom surface of the rail'so as to provide a tie abutting surface which extends a substantial distance below the rail; The corrugations increase the effective width of the bearing surfaces of the anchor and thereby prevent any substantial tilting of the anchor about a horizontal axis when the anchor is pressed against the vertical face of an adjacent cross-tie, and while tending to avoid excessive tilting of the anchor about a horizontal axis, the construction is such that the width of the bearing surfaces will be sufficiently narrow to take advantage of the tendencywhich the anchor has to tilt about a horizontal axis and thereby increase though it may be made of relatively light weight material, will be rigid inconstruction, provide a relatively wide surface for bearing against a stationary part of a roadbed, and which will have rail-engaging surfaces of suflicient area tomaintain the anchor in its applied position on the rail. The anchor device being. made-from relativelythin material makes it practicable to form anchors of any desired contour by shearing. them from plate material, the plate material being pre viously rolled to any desired cross-sectional contour.

The invention is illustrated in one specific embodiment in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a'view in section of the lower portion of a railroad rail showing a rail anchor constructed in accordance with my invention applied thereon.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the anchor showing its position on the rail base adjacent one of the cross ties of the railway track.

Fig.3 is a cross-section through the jaw of the anchor taken on line 83 of Fig. 1 to illustrate the configuration of the upper edge of that portion of the anchor which bears against the bottom surface of the rail. Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4: of Fig. 1 to illustrate the thickness of the bearing surfaces above and below the rail base relative to the thickness of the mega stock from which the anchor is formed, an

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a corrugated metal plate from which the anchor shown in the preceding figures is sheared.

The rail anchor herein shown consists of a body or under rail portion which extends across beneath the rail and bears at its upper edge 11 against the bottom surface of the rail. The body portion 10 is preferably provided with a downwardly curved lower edge 12, thereby providing the central portion of the body with a relatively wide tie-abutting surface. .One end of the body is formed with a shoulder 13 of any suitable height adapted to engage over the lower corner portion of one base flange of the rail, when the anchor is in its fully applied position. The other end of the body is provided with a recess portion which forms an upper jaw 14 and a lower jaw portion 15. The upper jaw is formed with a bearing sur face which is preferably flat and bears against the top surface of the rail base at a point removed from the adjacent edge of the rail base flange. The lower jaw portion 15 bears against the bottom surface of the rail at a point inwardly from the edge of the rail base flange engaged, there being a clearance space 16 both below and above the rail base flange at its corner so as to provide for angular movement of the anchor about an axis extending longitudinally of the rail base when the anchor is applied to the rail, that is to say, when it is driven transversely of the rail to its normal operative position.

The anchor herein shown is provided with reinforcing ribs 17, preferably corrugations which extend across the body portion in a direction substantially perpendicular to the upper edge of the anchor. The corrugations serve to reinforce the under rail portion of the anchor so as to prevent bending of the anchor when it is pressed against a vertical face of the cross tie. The corrugated configuration of the upper edge of the anchor also increases the effective width of the bearing surface, thereby making it practicable to provide a relatively wide bearing surface and at the same time form the anchor from a single sheet of relatively light material.

t the jaw end of the anchor I preferably provide reinforcing corrugations 18 which extend longitudinally of the anchor and there provide the desired rigidity in a direction transversely of the rail and at the same time permit some resiliency in the jaw 14 so as to permit upward flexing thereof when the jaw is forced to its applied po sition.

In the drawings I have shown the anchor as being made by shearing the anchor of suitable configuration from a metal plate formed with suitable reinforcing corrugations. The corrugated plate shown in Fig. 5 has preferably two areas of corrugations, the area designated by the reference letter A being provided with a series of parallel corrugations 17 which preferably extend outwardly from both sides of the sheet. The corrugated area B of the metal plate is formed so that the con rugations 18 extend at substantially right angles to the corrugations 17. The shearing lines for the anchor are preferably so arranged on the sheet that the extremity 20 of the jaw 18 will include the angular rib 21 of one of the vertically disposed corrugations so that the bearing surface 22 of said jaw portion will be substantially wider than the thickness of the metal plate from which the anchor is formed. With this construction a relatively wide bearing surface 23 will appear directly below the surface 22, thereby providing relatively wide rail gripping surfaces disposed in the same vertical plane for engagement with the top and bottom surfaces of the rail base.

In applying the type of anchor illustrated in the accompanying drawings to the rail. the jaw end 14 is first hooked over one ec ge of the base flange of the rail with the underrail portion 12 thereof extending across beneath the base flange. The anchor device is then driven transversely of the rail to its applied position by striking the aw end of the anchor with a suitable implement to force the jaw 14 upwardly on the inclined surface of the rail base flange while the shoulder 3 remains beneath the base flange of the rail. The movement of the jaw 14 upwardly on the inclined surface of the rail base flexes it upwardly, whereby as soon as the shoulder 13 clears the lower corner of the rail base, the reflex of the jaw 14 serves to rock the anchor about a point 24 as a fulcrum, thereby causing the locking shoulder 13 to move upwardly into its locking engagement with the lower corner of the rail base.

While I have illustrated my invention in connection with one specific type of rail anchor, it will be apparent that rail anchors of various types may be formed of like material and provided with the reinforcing corrugations, such as shown in connection with the form of anchor herein illustrated whereby the anchor may be arranged edgewise with respect to the bottom surface of the rail. It will be understood, therefore, that I do not wish to limit my invention to the specific construction as described herein. except insofar as such limitations may be expressed in the claims.

I claim:

1. A rail anchor made from plate material and comprising a jaw portion for engagen'ient with one flange of a rail base and having an under rail portion which is normally disposed edgewise to the bottom surface of the rail, the upper edge of said under rail portion being formed with a series of lateral displacements of metal projecting out wardly from one side of the said under rail portion and a series of lateral displacements of metal projecting outwardly from the other side of said under rail portion to provide a rail engaging surface having an effective width that is greater than the thickness of the metal stock from which the anchor is made.

2. A rail anchor made from plate material and. comprising a jaw portion for engagement withone flange of a rail base and having an under rail portion which is normally disposed edgewise to the bottom surface of the rail, the upper edge of said under rail portion being formed with a series of lateral displacements projecting outwardly from one side of the said under rail portion and a series of lateral displacements of metal projecting outwardly from the other side of said under rail portion to provide said upper edge with rail engaging surface of sinuous configuration and having an effective width that is ter than the thickness of the metal stool; from which the anchor is made.

3. A rail anchor made from plate material and comprising a jaw portion for engagement with one flange of a rail base and having an under rail portion which is normall' disposed edgewise to the bottom surface of the rail the said under rail portion being provided with a series of laterally disposed reinforcing ribs disposed in successive arrangement throughout the length of the under rail portion and extend to the upper edge thereof to provide a rail engaging surface having effective width that is greater than t 1e thickness of the metal stock from which tne anchor is made.

A. A rail anchor made from plate material and comprising a jaw portion for engagement with one flange of a rail base and having an under rail. portion which is normally disposed edgewise to the bottom surface of the rail, the said under rail portion being formed with connected reinforcing corrugations of substantially uniform contour which 1 nd to the upper edge thereof to provide engaging suriace having an effective is greater than the thickness of stock from which the anchor is the i made.

o. A rail anchor made from plate material and comprising a jaw portion for engagement flange of arail base and having an A portion which is normally disposed edgewise to the bottom surface of the rail, the said. under rail portion being formed wit connected vertically disposed corrugations of substantially uniform contour which extend the full height of said under rail portion and provide the upper edge thereof with a rail hasc engaging surface of sinuous configuration.

(3. A rail anchor made from plate material and comprising a aw portion and an under rail portion, both of which are normally disposed elgewise to the rail, the said under rail portion being formed with a plurality of vertically extending reinforcing corrugations which provide the said. under rail portion with an effective width that is greater than the thickness of the metal stock from which the anchor is made and a portion of the lower ed -e of the under rail portion being curved downwardly intermediate its ends.

7. A rail anchor made from plate material and comprising a jaw portion and an under rail portion, both of which are normally disposed edgewise to the rail, the said jaw por tion and under rail portion being formed with vertically disposed corrugations which provide rail engaging surfaces of greater width than the thickness of the metal stock from which the anchor is made.

8. A rail anchor made from plate material and comprising a jaw portion and an under rail portion, both of which are normally disposed edgewise to the rail, a part of the upper edge of said under rail portion being formed with a lateral displacement of metal to provide a rail engaging surface having'an effective width that is greater than the thickness of the metal stock from which the anchor is made, and the said jaw end of the anchor being fo *med with a portion having sinuous configuration in vertical crosssection.

9. A rail anchor made from flat plate material and comprising a jaw portion and an under rail portion both of which are normally disposed edgewise to the rail, the said jaw and under rail portions being formed with vertically disposed corrugations which provide rail engaging surfaces of greater width than the thickness of the metal stool: from which the anchor is made, and the said jaw end of the anchor being formed also with corrugations eaten ding longitudinally of the anchor.

10. A rail anchor sheared from a corrugated metal plate c'omprisin a body portion which bears against the bottom surface of the rail adjacent opposite edges thereof and provided at one end with a jaw which extends over and bears at its extremity against the top surface of one base flange, the corrugations of the plate being disposed to provide the upper edge of the body and the bearing surface of said jaw with a sinuous configuration and to also provide the jaw end of the anchor with coiL'rugatioi'ls eX- tending longitudinally of the anchor.

' 11. A rail anchor cut from a corrugated metal plate in which the shearing lines extend transversely of the corrugations to provide the anchor with rail engaging edges having bearing surfaces of greater width than the thickness of the metal plate from which the anchor is cut.

12. A rail anchor out from a corrugated metal plate having corrugated areas in which corrugations of one area extend at an angle to the corrugations of the other area and in 1 which a portion of the shearing line for the anchor extends transversely of the corrugations of one area and another portion of said shearing line extends longitudinally of the corrugations of the other area.

13. A one piece rail anchor for clamping engagement with the base portion of a rail comprising a jaw for engaging the top sur face of said base portion of the rail and an underrail portion which extends across beneath said base and formed With a longitudinal depression at a location beneath said j aw and a plurality of vertically extending depressions intermediate the ends of said under rail portion.

14. A one piece rail anchor for clamping engagement with the base portion of a rail comprising a jaw for engaging the top surface of said base portion of the rail and an under rail portion which extends across beneath the base and formed with a plurality of vertically extending depressions intermediate the ends of the said under rail portions and formed beneath said jaw portions With a longitudinally extending depression Which merges into one of said vertical depressions.

V IGTOR C. ARMSTRONG. 

